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Race Track Abandoned for 50 Years Is Now a Secret Place in the Woods

We talk a lot about abandoned classic cars here at autoevolution, but automobiles aren't the only things that get discarded when they become old and useless. Sadly, decommissioned race tracks suffer similar fates.
abandoned race track in Wasaga Beach, Ontario 7 photos
Photo: Abandoned Urbex Canada/YouTube
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The list of famous NASCAR tracks and drag strips that have been abandoned over the years is simply too long to mention here, but I'm sure many gearheads remember Riverside International Raceway in California and Flemington Speedway in New Jersey. The latter opened back in 1910 and remained in use for almost 100 years until it was closed in 2002.

But I'm not here to talk about race tracks built in the early days of motorsport. I'm here to give you a virtual tour of Wasaga Beach Speedway, yet another track that was abandoned for decades. While not as famous as the aforementioned courses, Wasaga Speedway held races for 16 years.

It opened in August 1954 as a 1/4-mile paved oval race track built inside a 1/2-mile dirt horse track. It hosted events every Saturday and welcomed a long list of divisions, including Stock Car, Modified, Late Model, B Modified, and 6 Cylinder Diamond. And based on old footage, it was packed during the weekends.

But the track did not remain open for very long. The course was closed in 1970, most likely due to a lack of funds, and it remained abandoned ever since.

Some 52 years have passed since Wasaga Speedway saw action for the last and the place is now overgrown with weeds. To the point where the original horse track is completely grown over and the paved course is almost hidden from sight. According to YouTube's "Abandoned Urbex Canada," many people living in the small town nearby aren't even aware of its existence.

There's nothing much left to see, though. While the paved track is still in decent condition, save for the grass growing through the asphalt, there are no structures left. Apparently, the grandstand was removed sometime in the 1970s, while the remaining buildings were demolished and hauled away in the decades that followed.

It's still an interesting place to discover if you're in the area, though. But if Wasaga Beach, Ontario, is too far from where you live, the walkaround will show what's left of this once popular racing venue.

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About the author: Ciprian Florea
Ciprian Florea profile photo

Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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